[Andy Foster]

I walked away from a job today, which I have never done before and hope I never have to do again.

Basically the custy called me asking for the job to be done in a hurry.  I explained that I would need to do a survey first so that I could give a definate price.  He said he didn't have time and just wanted an approximate price.  He gave me the total square footage and I gave him a price accordingly after loads of haggling we agreed a price (came to £75 including the VAT). He also wanted it cleaned without chemicals which I said I couldn't do but that I would use as little chemical as I could and just aggitate more.

We agreed the price and I went today to do the job.

On arrival, he wasn't ready for me and so I had to wait outside for 10 minutes.  When called, I went up to the flat which was supposed to be on the second floor but ended up on the 4th floor!
He showed me the flat and there were 4 rooms, some furniture which would have to be moved around and he tried to knock the price down... again.

I stuck to my guns and he reluctantly agreed to pay the £75.
Whilst getting the stuff out of the van, I totted up what the cost would have been had a survey been done and it would have been over £100, however I had agreed the price so I would honour it.
I then started to get a few bad feelings; would he pay me, would he be happy if not all of the stains were removed (ex student flat) etc.
Anyway, I felt like just driving off but thought I owed him an explanation as to why I wanted to turn the job down. I told him and a bit of a wrangle ensued, he offered me more money but I told him that it wasn't the money and that he would be better getting somone who would do it cheaper and may be able to do it without chemicals.

I feel a bit guilty about walking away, but for £75 or even £100, it just felt wrong.

Anyone else had this or similar experiences?

Sorry this post is so long.

Andy

[John Kelly]

Thats the good thing about being self employed. You decide who you work for. I've walked away from loads of jobs where they've told you porkies or there is likelyhood of not being paid.
We always insist on payment upfront from tennants on any rental properties.

[Charlie Payne]

i'd have done the same mate, if you get a bad feeling about a job 9/10 it can be more trouble than its worth! regards char

[from edge2edge]

ditto if in doubt walk.

[lands]

Good for you Andy. Too many messers out their as it is.

Pete

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

trust me for 75 pounds its not worth the chew , i have walked away from a few jobs where it didnt feel right and most of the time i give them chem drys number     let them have all the none payers 

[Andy Foster]

Thanks guys, you have cheered me up.
12 months ago I would have done the job cos I needed the money, but now I am busy enough to not lose any sleep over the loss of a few quid.
I was more bothered about letting the custy down but after reading your comments I think I did the right thing.

Thanks again

Andy

[Shaun_Ashmore]

could be 1 of the best decissions you will ever make, if it feels bad don't do it! you could end up not getting paid or worse a clain against you for nothing you have done and loads of sleepless nights.

Shaun

[Steve Chapman]

Andy,

You did the right thing mate, if your gut feeling says it doesn't feel right then normally thats the case, and those that haggle over the price are normally the ones to call you back and complain :

Your comment about having to wait reminded me,
I had one job i went to a few years back, a very stuck up couple and didn't like the sound of them on the phone so already had a bad feeling about it!

When i got there the woman told me to wait outside until her husband had finished his breakfast as he didn't like being disturbed, even tho i was right on time.!

I was so mad i just got straight back in the van and drove off, her face at the window was a picture and well worth it

When she phoned me, i explained that i was a business man and not a slave!

She actually was very apologetic and i did end up going back to do the job, and they treated me like royalty the whole time.

Ever since then i've always stuck to my principles and decided whether i actually want to do the job or not,  at the end of the day it's up to you!


regards
steve

[will_turton]

 i wouldnt have turned the job down, i'd have told him straight you keep me waiting,  its on the 4th floor i want this much, if he said no then walk,
 it happened today turn up i quoted for the stairs and landing and 2 bedrooms on the phone, got there and they said i quoted for 4 bedroom, and the stairs, stuck to my gunns and they paid up, there was no bad feeling between us, am in this job to earn money and this was a rental
 

[2cleanright]

Had my first ever walk away on Monday.
Only a mattress clean. Custy was very "needy" on the phone, and condesending. Will it remove all stains, odours etc etc, 3 times over with the "I'm not Jesus" routine. Snooty attitude on phone put my back up a bit. Phoned again the night before to check I was going to turn up, and asked all the same questions again, plus a stupid questoin to end "Is it a high quality service?" Just reminded my other half of Lord Snooty. :
Had bad feeling, but decided to go and look at least. Sort of got the impression that he wasn't going to be happy whatever I did.    So;
Couldn't find the house - no name or number! Apparently it is a legal requirement under the Post Office Act to have your house name or number clearly visible from the road. Phoned client who grudgingly agreed to walk to road for me, but crap directions meant I drove up and down wrong section of road for 10 mins. Custy phoned back very irate. I told him he was wasting my time and I would be late for next job, so call someone else. Listened to abuse for a while then put phone down on him.
When he tried to ring back I rejected the call. I then got a text saying I was appalling, the worst person he had ever tried to do business with, and I was going to be reported to trading standards! Also my work must be rubbish! ;
His text was badly spelt too.

Felt like I had been savaged by a hamster! Handbags at dawn was the overall impression. I wanted to text him back with the number for trading standards, but decided he wasn't worth the cost of a text.

Who needs custys like that? Big house, small mind, bad attitude!

Good on you for walking away - when these people cant get a job done at any price they might realise what a total a**e they are being.

[calmore]

Must say I would have done the same.

A while ago I was asked to do a job that was "very urgent". I quoted £300+ and because I was booked up, offered to do it on a Sunday.

After a lot of umming and ahhing the people said I was "far too expensive" and they'd "have to think about it".

I offered to hold a Sunday appointment open until midday the following day in case the changed their minds.

"No, we'll find someone cheaper" they replied.

Lo and behold they phoned back at 6pm on the saturday in a panic as everyone else they phoned was either more expensive or not available!

As I was now fully booked for they Sunday I had to also turn down their job!

They were very offhand at this point and blamed ME for them not being able to get their carpet cleaned in time!

I'm glad that it's a job I turned down.

[JS2]

Andy

You did state in your post: "We agreed the price and I went today to do the job".  I guess it's always better to 'pre-condition' these type of statements until you've actually inspected the prospective job.  Binding contracts can be made verbally (although proving this can be difficult to establish if it's not recorded. . . think of the telephone calls you make to official bodies ... this call may be recorded for training purposes ... is it ?!).  You appear to have done the correct thing by walking away, but do bear in mind my point.

Best regards

Pete (JS2)

[Andy Foster]

Great replies chaps.

Good point Pete, however if any part of a contract is reneged upon, then as far as I am aware, the other party has the right to withdraw from said contract.  In which case, the '2nd floor flat' he told me about would hopefully justify my actions.

This has been the worst day of my business life because I hate to feel like I have let someone down.

I hope I never have the same experience ever again.

This afternoon however I had a customer not only be delighted with the job I did for them, but they gave me a tenner to buy my new baby son a present with... now that's more like it!!!

[JS2]

Andy

Great to hear that it's gone good today.  We simply have to deal with a cross-section of the population, some of whom simply aren't particularly rational in the way they deal with those offering them a decent service.  It's no different in any trade, either as a self employed person or as an employee.  It's a feature we have to work with, so it's better to accept how frustrating some characters can be to deal with.  But doesn't it make up for it when you meet an appreciative person, and there's plenty of them around.

Best regards

Pete (JS2)

[Matt Read]

I lost a customer a couple of years ago when my daughter was born and sleep stopped ! She was a regular actually but always a pain in the arse. On reflection she was just being her usual self but caught me at a bad time ,not saying you were wrong today but just offering another angle !

[Charlie Payne]

i operate a zero tolerance carpet cleaning service! i refuse to be messed about!!!!! i will not be mucked around!!!!!!!!! regards char

[carpetguy]

From your postings Charlie, I would have thought you would be diplomacy and charm personified, just shows, you should never assume !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Charlie Payne]

carpet guy, get stuffed!!!!

[Neil Grainger]

easy now, dont let them get at you.